


One Year

by BarbaLovesCarisi (CaptainAmericasShield)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: It was fluffy until it wasn't, M/M, Rafael Barba deserves to be happy, Sonny and Rafael take care of each other, Sonny is a good husband, Then it was fluffy again, they both deserve to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22708342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainAmericasShield/pseuds/BarbaLovesCarisi
Summary: (Sort of) based on the prompt “The alarm doesn’t ring so one of them needs to wake up the other.” Sonny and Rafael are about to celebrate their first anniversary.  Knowing Rafael has had bad luck with prior relationships, Sonny starts planning months in advance and wants to make sure Rafael knows he is loved.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29
Collections: Barisi Valentine Prompt Challenge 2020





	One Year

**Author's Note:**

> See I can write fluff. All I want in life is for Sonny and Rafael to be married and happy together.

“I can’t believe we’ve been married for almost a year,” Sonny said, looking at Rafael, who was curled up against him, and smiling. It was the night before their first anniversary, and it seemed like the year had flown by.

Rafael looked up at Sonny and returned the smile. “Neither can I _mi amor_ ,” Rafael replied, leaning up and kissing his husband. “I can honestly say it has been the best year of my life,” he continued, moving his head back down to Sonny’s shoulder and closing his eyes..

Sonny smiled again and kissed the top of Rafael’s head. “Is there anything specific you want to do tomorrow?” he asked, wrapping his arm around Rafael and pulling him closer.

“Nothing in particular. Just being with you is more than enough. You know this isn’t something I want to make a big deal of.”

Sonny nodded. They both knew that with their jobs, the more they kept their relationship and personal lives a secret, the safer they would be. The only people that knew they were married were family and close friends. Besides that, they would only tell people that absolutely needed to know. They had both had their fair share of death threats and near-death experiences. Sonny and Rafael worried about each other. Rafael was relieved when Sonny moved to the DA’s office. He hated not knowing whether or not Sonny would come home at night. He hated remaining in a constant state of worry when Sonny was out on a case or on an undercover op - not knowing whether or not Sonny was okay or even alive killed him.

“That’s completely understandable Raf. I know we need to keep our relationship under wraps with you as a Judge and me as an ADA. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“You sure you’re okay keeping this as under wraps as we do?”

“Raf, love, you know I am. I told you that when we got married,” Sonny said softly, kissing the top of Rafael’s head again. “I love you, and I want nothing more than for you to be safe and happy.”

“I know, I guess I just wanted to make sure. People change their minds all the time.”

“Raf, I’m not going to change my mind, I promise.”

“I love you Dominick. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and you are the best part of my life.”

Sonny smiled. Rafael may have appeared intimidating to most people, but those who were close to him, especially Sonny, knew he had a heart of gold, and was one of the kindest people you would ever meet, and Sonny loved that about him.

“I love you too Rafael. I know I’ve said this before, but I will keep saying it until the day I die- I could not imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.”

Rafael stirred and looked up again, kissing Sonny. “I know it’s a bit early, but happy anniversary _mi amor_.”

“Happy anniversary Raf,” Sonny replied, smiling and closing his eyes and pulling Rafael closer.

It wasn’t too long before they fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonny was a light sleeper. He had been since he became a detective. He always felt he needed to be able to wake up quickly if there was any hint he would be in danger. 

His alarm rang and woke him up at 7. He had been careful to set the volume quiet enough that it wouldn’t wake Rafael, but not too soft that he wouldn’t have been able to hear it.

Sonny pressed a quick kiss to the top of Rafael’s head before carefully getting up and walking out to the kitchen, quietly closing the bedroom door behind him. Since it was the weekend, he knew Rafael would sleep for at least another hour and a half.

Sonny got to work on breakfast, grabbing the casserole he had prepped the previous night before Rafael had gotten home from work from the refrigerator. He had been talking to his mother for the past two weeks to see what she suggested he make for breakfast. She ended up sending her recipe for a breakfast casserole that she usually made around the holidays when they had family over.

He started the oven and put the casserole on the counter, then started going through unread messages. Most of them were from family, wishing him and Rafael a happy 1st anniversary. One was from Alex Cabot, telling him to be nice to Rafael. That one made him smile. He knew Alex and Rafael were close friends and they both worried about each other. Sonny assured her he would and reminded her he loved Rafael, and would never hurt him. 

When the oven was hot enough, Sonny put the casserole in and set the timer, then went to climb back in bed for a bit. He had almost an hour until the casserole was done, he figured he’d spend more time with Rafael, who was still sound asleep.

Sonny always would tell Rafael he didn’t know what he had done to deserve him, and it was true. To him, Rafael was perfect. He was incredibly passionate about his work, and he cared about the victims. While he could be snarky and sarcastic, he was one of the kindest and most genuine people Sonny had ever met. He was caring, but had his demons too. They both did. 

Sonny knew about Rafael’s past and his terrible luck with relationships. Rafael had been hurt, but didn’t let it show. To anyone who had just met him, he wouldn’t seem like he had been through as much as he had.

Rafael was hesitant about their relationship at first. He told Sonny love had only ever brought him pain, and he was afraid of falling too hard too fast and getting hurt again. Sonny’s heart broke, and he assured Rafael he would never hurt him. As their relationship progressed, Rafael became more comfortable, and less worried about getting hurt, though Sonny knew that fear still remained in a small part of his brain.

The day they got married, Sonny could tell Rafael wasn’t entirely sure about the relationship. He told him if he wasn’t quite ready for marriage yet they could wait. Sonny just wanted Rafael to be happy and comfortable in the relationship, and if that meant waiting, he was more than happy to. It was a small wedding with some family members and a handful of close friends. Rafael seemed to relax more as the ceremony had progressed, and Sonny swore he had never seen Rafael genuinely smile as much as he did that day.

Sonny was torn from his thoughts by the timer he had set on his phone going off. He knew the casserole wasn’t done yet, but he still had things to do before he woke Rafael up, and wanted to give himself enough time to do them.

He quickly set the table, then went to the closet to get the small bag of things he had gotten for Rafael. Setting the bag on the counter, Sonny went back to the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast.

The timer went off a short time later. Sonny was done getting everything else ready, so he took the casserole out of the oven and put it on the stove to start cooling while he went to wake Rafael up.

When he got into the bedroom, he saw Rafael still sleeping and smiled to himself. His husband always looked so peaceful when he was asleep- the stress of the job, gone.

Sonny sat on the side of the bed and leaned down to press a kiss to Rafael’s forehead. Rafael stirred and woke up, fully turning to look up at Sonny.

“Happy anniversary Raf,” Sonny said smiling and pressing a kiss to his lips.

Rafael smiled and sat up. “Happy anniversary _mi amor_ ,” he said, leaning over and putting his head on Sonny’s shoulder.

Sonny tilted his head so it was resting on Rafael’s. “I made breakfast,” he said quietly.

“You didn’t have to do that _mi amor_. I could have helped you.”

“I wanted to Raf. I know you’re not big on events like this, but I just want you to know that I do love you more than the world, and I want you to be happy.”

“Thank you _mi amor_ ,” Rafael responded softly. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. You’re kind, charming, empathetic - I don’t know how you fell in love with someone like me.”

“Raf, what do you mean you don’t know how I fell in love with _someone like you_?”

“I’m the opposite of you. Sometimes I think you deserve to be with someone you’ll be happier with.”

“What makes you think I’m not happy with you?”

“It’s nothing you’re doing, I think it’s just me getting in my own head, but-”

“No. Raf, don’t do this to yourself. Please don’t do this to yourself. I know you’ve been through a lot of heartbreak, I know you’ve been hurt in the past. I promise you I will never hurt you. I will always love you, no matter what. Rafael, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I honestly could not imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. I know for you this is a big milestone because it’s the longest relationship you’ve been in. Please, if there is anything I can do to make you happy or make you feel more comfortable with how this relationship is going, please let me know. We will be okay, I promise,” Sonny finished, taking Rafael’s hands in his own then leaning over and kissing him.

Rafael pressed his forehead to Sonny’s and sighed. “I love you Dominick. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being such an amazing husband. Thank you for showing me love doesn’t always have to end in pain. Thank you for showing me I can be happy with someone. I couldn’t ask for a better man to spend the rest of my life with.”

Sonny smiled and kissed him again. “I really do love you Raf, and I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you. Happy anniversary love.”

“I love you too Dominick. Happy anniversary _mi amor_ ,” Rafael responded, smiling softly. Knowing that Sonny was so willing to make sure he was okay and so determined to make sure he knew he was loved meant the world to him.

As they stood and walked into the kitchen, Rafael smiled to himself and knew that Sonny would keep his word and that everything would be okay.


End file.
